Electrode for jet-wave commutators and interrupters



March 30 1926. 1,578,287

J.F.G P.HARTMANN ELECTRODE FOR JET WAVE COMMUTATORS AND INTERRUPTERS Filed May 19, 1925 Li fq f] Fgfi' W 'ilJ lllllllll Jlllllllll H" tators and interrupters, and particularly to,

Patented Mar, 30, 1926.

UNITED STATES Jumosfr'mznnnrx GEORG Pour; neln'runm, or' cormnaemf, mmuarur.

nnnc'rnofin Ion ,rn'r-wevn coinmfrarons em) mtrnnnor'mns.

To all tfbhom it may concern: V

Be it. known that 1, Jones Fnnnenrx Gnone Porn: HARTMANN, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at Gopenha en, Denmark, have invented mew and useful mprovements in or Relating to Electrodes for Jet-WaIve C'ommutators and Interrupters; and I do hereby declare the following to be a 'full, clear, and exact descriptionlof the same.

4 This invention relates to; jet-wave cemmu:

electrodes or combinations or arrangements of electrodes to be used in such devices, Apparatus of this character are described for instance in my U. S. patent specifications Nos. 1,306,335 and 1,365,491,91nd include a wave-shaped conductive liquid jet or shortly a jet-wave, preferabl of mercury, which moves on in the direction of the axis of the wave figure and strikes or comes intoconta'ct with one or more electrodes.

These electrodes have hitherto of solid metal, but in accordance with the present invention one or more of the' electrodes with which the jet-wave comes into :contact'or parts of these electrodes is or are 1 formed as one or more conductive liquid jets, preferably mercury jets, through which the jet-wave passes and through which cur-- 'rent 'ma be led into or out from the jetwave. t has been foundin practice that when the jet or 'ets of such a. jet-electrode have properly c osen dimensions and velocity the jet-wave 'will pass the jet-electrode without being seriously damaged, and that certain advantages which will appear I from the following may be obtained by using such jet-electrodes instead of solid electrodes. I Thejetselectrode may be formed as a jetcomb, that is a series of jets emitted'from holes inthe side of a tube or box, through which the current may be led into the jets of theelectrode, and these jets may strike a conductin bar or piece (a so-ca'lled counter-piece) t rough which current may be led into the jets and further into the jetwave in order to wholly or partly throw off the load of current of said tube or box;

Other features a the invention andthe advantages obtaine "thereby from -the following description of the em bodiments shown on the accompanying drawin 'which-- been made w'ill. appear in I 9 I 'iigure 1 isa ."i h

\ e neationf'medxa 19, 1925. Seria1 No. 3 1,3 50.

essential parts of a jet-wave rectifier or com mutator of known type which is provided with oli'd' electrodes, this view being shown for tie purpose of comparison only in order to make the invention more easily understood;

' Figures 2 and 3. are a front view and a planwview respectively of a jetcomb-elec trode constituting an embodiinent'of the inventionye.v (7 1 p j Figure 4 is a plan view of a jet-comb-electrod e provided with a'counter-piece;

Figures 5+7 are diagrammatic views oflet-wave commutators "provided with jetcomb-electrodes; f

' 'FigureS is a plan ,view of' a double jetcomb electrode pleces provided with counter- Figure 9 is a diagrammatie view of 1a jet-wave commutator, in which a double Thain-electrode consisting of jet-combs arran ed above an, auxiliary electrpde, and

, trode elernents;

' Referring now commutator shown therein includes a ]etwave figure and strikes a twoart electrode E E the component parts 1 and E, of which ordinarily are separated by an in sulatingwall P with a sharpened-edge which cuts the bends of the jet-wave. The latter .being during its movements towards the electrode E E in constant touch with an auxiliary electrode E, will alternately connect this latter electrode with the electrode parts E and E Thejet-wave together with the double-electrodes E E andthe auxiliary electrode E thus forms a commutator which may be used for the rectification of an alternating voltage. F or'this purpose the waves are generally. produced by the coaction between a constant magnetic field F and an auxiliary alternatingcurrent, which is synchronous with the voltage to be rectified.f The current may be delivered ,from

.F1gures 10 and'll are a plan view andafront view respectively of a doubleelectrode comprisin'g bothliquidjets and solid. electo Figure lthe jet-wave I into and out from the jet throu h the nozzle 7 jN and an auxiliaryelectrode Furthermore in order to make the commutator serviceable for the rectification of the said alter- V91tage h -d le electrode is, and u justed at such-a f .wave.

field, that the jet-bend is ,cut nearly. at the moment in which the alternating voltage alters its sign.

It has been found that one or more of the solid electrodes of such a jet-wave commutator may advantageously be substituted by jet-electrodes and preferably jet-comb electrodes, but such electrodes may also be used in any other type ofjet-wave commutators as well as in jet-Wave interrupters and broadl speaking in any apparatus having a'con uctive liquid jet for the closing or interruption of an electric circuit.

The jet-comb may be produced-by means of a pipe R, Figures 2 and 3, in the-side wall of which the holes for the jets j, j, j are bored. .The waves of a jet-wave comchosen dimenas above indicated. The current is'led into the jet-wave through those comb-jets which at any moment are in contact with the jet- In order to partly or completely-exempt the pipe R from carrying current; the jetcomb-electrode may be furnished with a solid bar or piece B, Figure 4 the counter- 1 piece) against which the jets of the comb are instead land 5 and thus for introducing the auxthe axis directed, and through which ,tlie current may be led into the comb-jets and therefrom into the jet-wave. .1

Some. applications of the jetco1nb-electrode will now be described by way of example. First it may be used as an auxiliary electrode, in a jet-wave commutator. In. the commutator shown in Figure 5 it is.-

used for-the intreduetion of the main current, that is to say the rectified current, in-

to the jet-wave J of the commutator. Theef not dam-" quality of the jet-.comb-electrode aging the jet-wave is here of malnim'portance. The jet-comb-electrode E can be placed just above the double-electrode E E thus i reducing the length of the-bend of the jet J extending betweenthe electrodes E and E E and thereby the resistance which the main current must overcome, In this way it has proved possible to highly reduce the ohmic loss of the jet-wave commutate'r, It should in this connection be mentioned that the jet-.co'mb-electeode also may be used of the Solid electrode E in Figures illary current into the jet-J.

The jet-comb when used as an auxiliary electrode need not be placed "cross-wise to ofthe jet-wave J. It may be ar ranged along said axis as shown by E in Figure 6. The onlv condition which in this case must be fulfilled is that the jet-comb covers half a wave-length of the jet'J;

In the next application to be considered the jet-com'b-electrode is used for the 001m ponent parfs E, and E of the main eleccombs' are used thedouble electrode is in a way subjected to no wear at all and will last practically forever. The two combs E and E are to be placed symmetrically in such positions that the commutationsparksare formed between the innermost jet in each comb and the'jet-w'ave, and the combs must be positioned at such ,a distance from each other, that the bend of the jet J comesinto contact with the first jet j, of the comb E before losing contact with the last jet j, of the-homb'E or vice-versa. The distance will be somewhat larger than is to, be expected from a geometrical c0nsideration as the jet bend in leaving a jet of the comb draws a" string from the latter, which string only bursts after having reached a certain length. It has been found that the certainty with which the commutation takes place is. a comparatively very high one. In Figure 7 the electrode E cludes a series of conductive jets j. Figure 8 shows how the double electrode may be-pro vided with bars B and B to reduce the current load of the pipes R and R as well as the current load of the electrode-jets. Figure 8 may be'considered as a top view of both of the double-electrodes shown in Figures v7 and 9. r \The jet-comb double electrode makes it also in- Y possible to construct a commutator with an auxiliary electrode placed beneath the main electrode in the manner indicated in Figure 9.' To avoid spraying. of the mercury the auxiliary electrode Eris here composed of knives or wedges, but generally a jet-comb double electrode may be arranged above a single electrode of any description.

, It is now obvious that, unless the-jet comb double electrode is to be used in connection with an auxiliary electrode E arranged be low the main electrode as in Figure 9, it is not at all necessary that the'whole of the two sides E and E consists of jets. Some of the jets or all except the innermost. jets j and 3' Figure 7, may be replaced by solid material for instance by steel wedges. The electrode then takes the form shown in Figures l0 and 11. Here too, takes place between t 0 jets, namely, the main jet J and the jetj or 7' and thus the electrode is subjected to no wear as the commutation-spark does not attack the wedges. The jet-pipes R and B, may bejconnected directly with the electrode parts E and E respectively or they may also be insulated and connected with the parts E and E the interruption be directed against counter-pieces. connected directly with the parts E and E respectlvely, or beween the counterpieces and the parts E, and B, there may be inserted resistances for the diminishingoi the short-circuiting current arising during the commutation.

Furthermore in a complete jet-comb one or more jets may .be insulated from the remainder for the purpose of introducing resistances or other devices between the separate jets or between the jets and the remaind'er of the electrode.

Having thus fully described my invention I-claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In an electric jet-wave apparatus, the combination of a conductive jet-wave' and an electrode including a conductive liquid jet through which the said jet-wave passesand through which current may be led out from the jet-wave.

2. In an electriciiet-wave apparatus, an electrode consisting of ,a hollow member having in its side a series of holes through which conductive liquid jets issue, and a conductive jet-wave adapted topass through said jets to establish or break, electric coninto or tact between said jet-wave and jets.

3. Inan electric jet-wave apparatus, an electrode consisting of a hollow member having in its side a series of holes through which conductive liquid jets are emitted, and a conductive counter-piece struck by said jets, through which counter-piece-current may be led into these jets.

4. An electric jet-wave commutator, com-- prising means for producing a conductive jet-wave, an electrode adapted to be in constant touch with the said jet-wave during its motions, and a double-electrode, the v two sides of which are adapted to be alternately connected with the first named electrode through said jet-wave, ,the innermost part of each side of said double-electrode consistdouble-electrode consisting of a hollow memher having in its side a series of holes through which conductive liquld ets are emitted, and the two sides of the double electrode being arranged symmetrically with relation to the axis of the said jet-wave in such positions that the commutation sparks are formed between the innermost jet of each\1e?l\ectrode-side and the said jet-wave.

6. an electric jet-wave-apparatus, an electrode adapted to be in constant touch with the jet-wave, said electrode intluding a series of conductive liquid jets .through which the jet-wave passes. a

' In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of two witnesses. JULIUS FREDERIK GEORGYPOUL HARTMANN. 

